Tracing Uchijima’s surge: A snapshot of her journey to Madrid’s final eight

Moyuka Uchijima, at 23 years old, has arguably delivered the most significant breakout performance at the Mutua Madrid Open this year. Ranked World No. 56 and arriving with a season record of 13 wins and 12 losses, the Japanese rising star secured her first-ever WTA 1000 quarterfinal spot by defeating World No. 22 Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday.

Before her run in Madrid, Uchijima had never defeated a player ranked inside the Top 25. She remarkably achieved this feat in back-to-back matches, first taking down World No. 3 Jessica Pegula and then following up with the victory over Alexandrova. In the match against Alexandrova, she broke her opponent`s serve five times and has now won six consecutive sets in the tournament.

Uchijima`s success in Madrid is a continuation of recent positive momentum. She also reached the quarterfinals at the tournament in Rouen, France, just last week. These two recent deep runs mark a significant step up, as she had previously only reached one WTA-level quarterfinal in her entire career before this surge.

Here`s a closer look at some of the key statistics behind Uchijima`s impressive breakthrough in Madrid:

By the Numbers: A glance at Uchijima’s career and Madrid run

Career and tour history

• Best Madrid result by a Japanese player: By reaching the quarterfinals, Uchijima has equaled the best performance by a Japanese player in Madrid, previously set by Naomi Osaka in 2019.
• Chasing history: She is attempting to become only the second Japanese player since 1990 to reach a Tier I / WTA 1000 semifinal on clay. The only other player to do so was Ai Sugiyama in Rome in 2003.

Wins over top players

• First Top 25 win: Defeated World No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
• Second Top 25 win: Defeated World No. 22 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.
• Consecutive Top 25 wins: This marks the first time in her career that she has achieved back-to-back victories against Top 25 opponents.

2024 season and momentum

• Pre-Madrid season record: 13-12
• Current record (after reaching quarters): 17-12
• Back-to-back quarterfinals: Reached the quarterfinals in Rouen and now in Madrid. Prior to these, she had only one career WTA quarterfinal appearance (Monastir 2022).
• Tiebreak success: Uchijima has won five tiebreaks this season, a stat surpassed only by Clara Tauson (8) and Emma Raducanu (6) among players mentioned in the original context.

Madrid Open match stats (Among Quarterfinalists)

• Break points saved: 19, ranking her second only to Belinda Bencic (25).
• Break points converted: 17, ranking her second only to Peyton Stearns (19).
• Time on court: 6 hours and 26 minutes, the most accumulated time on court among all players who reached the quarterfinals.